Victor EzejaThe United States House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to remove Kevin McCarthy of California as its Speaker. The resolution was adopted after 216 congress members voted yea as against the 210 others who voted nay.
The office of Speaker of the House of the United States House of Representatives was declared vacant after the motion to reconsider was laid on the table without objection. It was tense on the floor as lawmakers voted to oust the Speaker the same way they vote to elect one: by sitting on the House floor and rising one by one in an alphabetical roll call by conducted by the clerk.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelTuesday’s rebellion was led by Representative Matt Gaetz, a far-right Republican from Florida and McCarthy antagonist who finally turned on the speaker after he on Saturday relied on Democratic votes to help pass a bill to avoid a partial government shutdown.
“Kevin McCarthy is a creature of the swamp. He has risen to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing that money in exchange for favors. We are breaking the fever now,” Gaetz told reporters after the vote.
The House would now need to elect a new Speaker, but there is no clear alternative who would have the support needed to win the gavel, the CNN reported. In the interim, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is the interim Speaker.
Republicans control the chamber by a narrow 221-212 majority, meaning they can afford to lose no more than five votes if Democrats unite in opposition.
READ ALSO: Meet Patrick McHenry: Kevin McCarthy’s Replacement
The development is a historic moment that threatens to plunge House Republicans even further into chaos and turmoil. No House speaker has ever before been ousted through the passage of a resolution to remove them.
The fight over the speakership marked a major escalation in tensions for a House GOP conference that has been mired in infighting — and it comes just days after McCarthy successfully engineered a last-minute bipartisan effort to avert a government shutdown.
The New York Times noted that the sacked Speaker was unable to manage a bitter power struggle within the Republican Party. Democrats joined with a small group of hard-liners in McCarthy’s own party to strip the California Republican of the speaker’s gavel.
His removal underscored the bitter Republican divisions that have festered all year, and capped an epic power struggle between McCarthy and members of a far-right faction who tried to block his ascent to the speakership in January.
They have tormented him ever since, trying to thwart his efforts to keep the nation from defaulting on its debt and ultimately rebelling over his decision over the weekend to turn to Democrats for help to keep the government open.
The proceedings that played out on Tuesday have taken place only once before in the House of Representatives, in 1910. Back then, progressive Republicans tried to remove then-Speaker Joseph Cannon, a conservative known as “Uncle Joe,” for refusing to bring their priorities to the floor for a vote. He survived that vote, but was weakened as a result. Mr. McCarthy is the first to be removed ever since.
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